Restless Farewell

Well, this is it — the Kansas City Symphony‘s last two concerts at the historic Lyric Theatre. Rehearsals for next season have already begun in the group’s new home, at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, and the excitement level among musicians and symphony boosters has all but eclipsed whatever nostalgia might otherwise have been mustered for the old, velvety Lyric and its notoriously limited acoustics. Maybe that’s why this weekend’s season-closing bill is made up of a businesslike three pieces, longer on springtime atmosphere than arm-pumping classical heroism. The big-ticket sound is Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, which puts across the composer’s Russian fatalism with hypnotic force. Violinist Stefan Jackiw joins the symphony for Bruch’s “Scottish Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra,” and Mendelssohn’s “The Hebrides Overture” rounds out the program. The 8 p.m. performances tonight and Saturday take place at the Lyric (1029 Central). Then on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m., Jackiw and the symphony play at Yardley Hall in Johnson County Community College’s Carlsen Center (12345 College Boulevard, in Overland Park). Tickets range in price from $18 to $58. Call 816-471-0400 or see kcsymphony.org. For Sunday’s concert, call 913-469-4445.

Fri., June 17, 8 p.m.; Sat., June 18, 8 p.m., 2011